page_title: Castle of Castro Marim
section_title: Architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Castle of Castro Marim / Architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Inside the fortress Castro Marim, Algarve, Portugal
context_page_description: The Castle of Castro Marim is a medieval castle on a hilltop overlooking the civil parish of Castro Marim, in the municipality of the same name, in the Portuguese Algarve. The castle was part of the defensive line controlled by the Knights Templar, a stronghold used during the Portuguese Reconquista, and adapted during the Restoration War to defend the frontier.
  The castle is located in a unique landscape due to the proximity of salt and mouth of the Guadiana River. Within the castle fortification are two epigraphic inscriptions: one, the first to record a settlement established by a Portuguese monarch, while the second carving identifies the alterations occurring under the reign of King Denis.
context_section_description: The castle is located in an urban context, implanted harmoniously on a geological platform overlooking the limits of the town of Castro Marim, on the eastern margin of the Guadiana River and integrated into the Marsh Nature Reserve of Castro Marim. Within the walled perimeter of the fortress is the Church of Santiago and behind a veil of walls, the Fort of São Sebastião. 
  The outer fortification of the city is in the form of an irregular triangle, encircled by a battlement with merlons, on the south by a platform, and two low rectangular towers on the east and west (both covered by terraces with simple doors). The latter tower doorway is surmounted by historical coat-of-arms of Portugal and inscription. The commemorative inscription marked the settlement of Castro Marim by King Afonso III was carved onto sandstone, with the coat-of-arms sculpted in relief, showing five castles, four shields forming a cross. The 1274 carvings are well worn, with the Caroline-Gothic inscription stating: "ERA M CCC XII POPULAVIT CASTRUM MARINUS REX ALFONSUS PORTUGAL ET ALGARBI ET STI...".  
  On the north wall, is the old castle, a trapedzodinal/semi-rectangular enclosure/plan, encircled by merlons and four cylindrical towers on each corner. To the north and south are arch doorways, one with a coat-of-arms and inscription. 
  In the interior there are two-storey buildings to the west and north, with rectangular doors and windows, and to the east by the ruins of the square and dependencies). Along the exterior, on the south wall, are vestiges of a keep dominated by bulwarks. In the community are a few visible structures and ruins of rectangular laneways, one with an arch. The commemorative inscription marks the start of construction of the castle, framed by simple filleted frame and surmounted by a shield composed of three escutcheons (similar to the one encountered on the barbican). Comparable to the sandstone coat-of-arms in the entrance, the 1279 inscription "ERA Mª CCCª XVII SABADO PRIMO DIA DE JULHO FOI ESTA PORTA E...MADA EM T[EM]PO DE REY D[OM] DINIS ERA COM...REINAR XVII DIA[S DE FEVEREIRO]."
caption: The lateral entrance to the barbican
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